I attended Drysdale Primary from 1948 to 1953 when it was only a three-room school with under 100 enrolments. Grades 5 to 8 were taught by the principal, Mr Mortimer; Grades 3 and 4 were taught by Mrs McAdam; kindergarten to Grade 2 were taught by the formidable Miss Martin. At this time, it was possible for students to complete all their education at the school without going on to a secondary school in Geelong, but very few took the option to enroll in Years 7 and 8. Life and schooling were still adjusting to peacetime conditions. Teaching methods were simple with few aids – although I do recall an ancient 1930s radio receiver which was trundled out occasionally for relevant broadcasts. Material from the blackboard was copied down using a steel-nib pen dipped in an inkwell, making it impossible for a lefthander like me to get high marks for neatness. I walked to school alone, or with other kids, from our house at 25 Princess Street, crossing the busy intersection of roads at the old post office. After school I often wandered around the town with others for half an hour or more before arriving home. Unimaginable today!
The principal, Mr Mortimer, whose descendants still live in the district, was both a good teacher and a wise and sensitive man. I still recall his deep sadness on the death of King George VI in February 1952. He felt a strong emotional attachment to the royal family, telling us that he was a similar age to the late King, married around the same time, and with two children of similar age to the King’s children. Mr Mortimer’s main defect was that he barracked for Essendon at a time when that team and Geelong were competing for premiership glory. If Geelong defeated Essendon I always raised this at the regular Monday Morning Observation, where we had to talk about any recent event. But Mr Mortimer seemed to take it all in good spirit. A motivation to do well in tests was that Mr and Mrs Knight, who operated the general store in High Street, offered the top student a block of Cadbury’s chocolate – and you got to choose the flavour!
The provision of core education was excellent, but cocurricular activities were almost non-existent. The only regular inter-school sport I can recall was an annual athletic carnival held at Queenscliffe, where we competed against other schools on the Peninsula. Lloyd La Beach, the Panama sprinter who won bronze medals at the 1948 London Olympics, gave a demonstration run at one meeting. We did eventually play a cricket match against Portarlington Primary. This was when a turf wicket had been newly installed at the Drysdale Oval, with assistance from my father who was Shire Secretary and a cricketer with Wallington (Drysdale did not have a team). For what was meant to be the inaugural match, we excitedly awaited the arrival of the regular bus from Portarlington, but to our disappointment there were no children on board — Mr Mortimer had forgotten to notify Portarlington! Another match was soon arranged and both sides turned up. As a project in Grade 6 we cleared land in the Recreation Reserve near Wyndham Street and then planted pine trees, trundling down in Mr Mortimer’s ancient car. I suspect this was a project designed to raise funds for the school.
It was a carefree period, but education was narrow in scope.
Ross Williams AM
